Verse of the Day 1/19

Matthew 18:3-4 (NLT) Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴ So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Yesterday we considered the attitude of the heart in coming to God in prayer, that of the proud pharisee and the contrite tax collector, "the sinner".  Today's verses point to another kind or another side of the humility required.

 

I've been reading the book by Todd Burpo "Heaven is for Real" which gives the account of what his 4 year old son Colton experienced in his "near death" experience.  (I'll let you read the book and see what you'd call it).  The pastor's comments on this verse really struck me.  He writes, "What is childlike humility?  It's not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda.  It's that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think.  .... It is the opposite of ignorance - it is intellectual honesty; to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard."

 

Wow!  You can see the tax collectors heart, his childlike faith in these words.

 

Oh to see that kind of heart in our politicians - the lack of guile, lack of a personal agenda, the lack of spin, the intellectual honesty and willingness to accept reality.  But before we, or I, look with disdain upon the politicians, what about me?

 

Pastor Burpo noticed this in a child, I've seen this kind of faith and honesty in my son Jeff and others with special needs.  Why is it so hard for us? 

 

May we find our way back to that childlike faith.

 

Blessings,
Mike
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Matthew 18 New Living Translation (NLT)   -  The Greatest in the Kingdom

 ¹ About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"

 ² Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. ³ Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴ So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

 ⁵ "And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf^[a] is welcoming me. ⁶ But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.